Be ahead of your time.
By the time Brussels is due to look at the end date for heat engines on production lines in mid-July, Hopium, the French car manufacturer has already firmly set its eyes on the next move: the high-hydrogen car range.
Announced in October 2020 and produced in record time in the Linas-Montlhéry test workshop, the brand created by racing driver Olivier Lombard, presents its very first prototype of a hydrogen car during Viva week Technology in Paris. This technical demonstrator called Alpha 0 is a magnificent promise. With a neutral carbon footprint, this car will display 500 horsepower, more than 200 km / h, 1,000 kilometers of range in a single tank of hydrogen in three minutes. On the style side, the paw of Félix Godard, a talented designer who went through Porsche or Tesla gives an avant-garde side to the car with an imposing grille imposed by the technology of the fuel cell which requires a consequent cooling circuit,this Alpha 0 also introduces for the first time the light signature, emblem of Hopium, whose "shape recalls the stratification of hydrogen and the movement of waves on the surface of the water", according to the manufacturer.
Hydrogen Hopium Hopium Car
Beyond that, the Hopium team outlines solutions for the mobility of tomorrow: autonomous driving, connection between the car and the home, including to provide an energy solution ... “We want to pave the way for a new way of thinking. 'automobile', launches Olivier Lombard.
"I immediately had the vision of the brand I wanted to create"
A vision that does not start from a blank sheet.
Born not far from the Peugeot plant in Poissy in Yvelines, at just 30 years old, the Ile-de-France already has solid experience in the automotive world.
Karting, endurance racing… In 2011, he was the youngest winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMP2 category.
He was then approached by the Swiss laboratory Green GT, which was working on the design of a hydrogen competition car and whose ambition was still to line up for the start of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2024. There, he became a driver. of development.
Hopium Hopium hydrogen car
“For seven years, I was able to test this technology under the extreme conditions imposed by motor racing. To tell the truth, I measured the potential and the performances which were never faulted, ”he explains. From there was born the idea of the brand Hydrogen Motive Company and its automotive division Hopium. “I immediately had the vision of the brand I wanted to create by focusing on high-end. According to him, the top of the range. The top of the range offers creative freedom and can serve as a technological showcase. The car which should be marketed at the end of 2025, should be offered at around 120,000 euros.
While many have burned their wings by wanting to create an automobile manufacturer from scratch as the entry ticket is so high, Olivier Lombard is in the process of creating around him a real ecosystem with investors, partnerships with large groups such as Plastic Omnium for the tanks of its future cars, companies at the forefront of innovation in the sectors of hydrogen fuel cells, automotive technology and engineering or the subsidiary it has just created in California dedicated to blockchain technology.
Obviously, the road to this bet is still strewn with pitfalls even if the ambitions of Hopium rely on the production in France of 8,000 cars sold between 2026 and 2030 with a playing field in Europe, Asia and the United States. .
The government relies on hydrogen
While the car is already undergoing its first rolling tests, Olivier Lombard is also considering the industrial phase of his project.
“The fuel cell will be produced in France,” he says.
When the reservations expressed on the future on hydrogen, Olivier Lombard tends to want to sweep them away with the back of his hand.
"I think that the hydrogen car will develop faster than we think, including for individuals".
For this, he underlines the plan of seven billion euros announced by the French government to have a network of the territory with 1,000 hydrogen charging stations.
“If that is not enough, we could consider creating our own stations with partnerships alongside our concessions,” he underlines.
Olivier Lombard, CEO of Hopium The driver Olivier Lombard, an entrepreneur committed to the hydrogen car race 4 rue de Penthièvre Paris 8th 08/06/2021 Photo: Delphine Goldsztejn Delphine Goldsztejn
And already the builders are starting to place themselves.
Given the drastic constraints to come in terms of polluting emissions in many countries, they are convinced that a simple lithium ion battery will not be enough.
"It will remain too expensive or unsuitable for heavy rollers or for long distances",
Hyundai Motor.
The South Korean brand and the Japanese Toyota will both increase their production capacities to 30,000 units by the end of next year, and to several hundred thousand by 2030. At the last show in Frankfurt, BMW had its prototype i Hydrogen NEXT, foreshadowing the launch of a hydrogen sedan in small series, around 2022. Audi has announced an “h-Tron” (in reference to its e-Tron electric car) offered at rental from 2021. For its part, PSA is working on a fleet of hydrogen utility vehicles for 2021 ...
But above all, the hydrogen car will almost become an almost obligatory transition to the thermal engine while the European Commission should make the proposal in mid-July to sign its death warrant (or almost) by 2035.